Power Supply Idea?...

Raditude

Raditude

I'm planning a shoot in a couple of months. The scene will take place in an abandon lot. The scene will require 25 to 50 extras, (I'm hoping to get that many, but that's another subject). As far as i know, the location has no power outlets, and as much as I might be moving, I won't want to be plugged in, anyway.

I'll be building a DIY dolly, crane and other mounting equipment. I'll be shooting with DSLR and Go Pro Cameras. Since these cameras will often be mounted up high, I want a monitor to view what I've got going on. I believe in "Go Big or Go Home," so I've picked out a 21 inch HDMI computer monitor.

To power the monitor, and possibly the cameras, I was thinking of getting an uninterruptible power supply, like this:

http://amzn.to/XkOjiF

Would this be ideal to power the monitor, multiple DSLRs (or battery chargers for them), a few lights and possibly other accessories, for a 6-8 hour shoot?
 
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No lights?

A UPS should be able to power a monitor for a little while depending on what the monitor sucks from your power and how much power the UPS stores. I wouldn't run the cameras from it too. It'll likely suck a UPS dry in 5 mins.

If you use lights too, what you really want is to hire a generator.

Good luck.
 
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I don't see why you can't just run off batteries? An 8" monitor HD monitor would be a better option and allow you to run everything off batteries.

If you're lighting the place, you'll need a generator anyway, so you can run power from the genny.
 
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You'd probably only get 30 or 40 mins charging stuff with this.
Also, in UPSes I don't think they normally use deep cycle batteries. UPSes are meant to stay at full charge for very long times, and only get depleted rarely. If you cycle (charge->drain is a cycle) them too often, you'll lose capacity very quickly.
I use a very nice 100AH battery and two 300W inverters and I can run the fluorescent lights I use for quite a while, and it's silent!

But anything big will require a genny.

CraigL
 
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This'll be shot in daylight, so lights probably won't be needed. I thought of getting a Power Inverter and a deep cycle battery, but I didn't want to spend a lot on this, if I won't use it again. Most of my shots are in studio or close to a power supply.

I didn't wanna get an 8 inch LCD when I can get a 25 inch LCD for the same price.
 
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Raditude said:
I believe in "Go Big or Go Home,"
Click to expand...

I believe in "The right tool, for the right job". :bag:

Why do you neeeeeeeed that 25" monitor, especially given the lack of power? :hmm:

This'll be shot in daylight, so lights probably won't be needed.
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Raw direct sunlight looks pretty ass. Bounce-boards, silks, reflectors, handheld leds, what else you plan using? Or just going au naturale?
 
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Zensteve said:
I believe in "The right tool, for the right job". :bag:

Why do you neeeeeeeed that 25" monitor, especially given the lack of power? :hmm:
Click to expand...

I probably won't get a 25 inch, but I'm just saying it's ridiculous that I can get a bigger one for the same price as a tiny one.

Zensteve said:
Raw direct sunlight looks pretty ass. Bounce-boards, silks, reflectors, handheld leds, what else you plan using? Or just going au naturale?
Click to expand...

I don't have a portable light system strong enough to affect the scene in daylight. I tried it with my last film, but it looked better with natural light. Besides, a little work in post goes a long way.
 
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I don't know if you can disable the 'audible alerts' on that one, but I have a similar one and it beeps as soon as the power goes out... and keeps beeping until it shuts down.
 
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Raditude said:
. Besides, a little work in post goes a long way.
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You didnt really just say that! ARGGGG.. just kidding..


Bright direct sun can be your enemy, you have to work hard to NOT blow out the highlights... overcast days are best, but can lead to boring look..

Do use bounce cards etc to give you some control.. a little work in production saves a LOT of work in post.

I get the desire to use the big monitor.. but I have a 7" portable that runs off batteries so I can go VERY remote and still carry enough juice to run my monitor and camera for a long time! When I have outlets and time, I DO use my PC monitor (HDMI LCD) on set. Its nice, but not as useful as you think. If I was JUST a director then yeah, Id use that a lot more, but since Im running camera and directing, the big monitor only gets used to review.. not frame or check focus..
 
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When we were shooting in the woods of a park, we used battery everything and we had an AC adapter for the cigarette lighter of a car or the battery charger. We had spare battery packs to rotate some charging with some in use.

The 7" monitor took its' power from the camera.
 
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A lot of work in post goes a little way is more accurate. A little work on set goes a long way.

Some basic reflectors, bounce cards, silks/diff frames and flags and duvetyne will go a long way into helping you shape your light and having it look decent.

7" monitors are expensive because they are field monitors, so you know exactly what you see is what you're going to get rather than consumer grade TVs that are really only good for viewing framing.

Do what's right for the job, don't just get a huge TV because 'it's ridiculous that I can get it cheaper'. You'll cause more problems than it's really worth - you can rent a DP6 for $60/day.

SmallHD displays can use a range of batteries, and some cameras also have a DC out for powering a monitor.
 
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